November 20, 2025 • 31 mins
Our conversation with Chad Kultgen and Lizzy Pace (from the Game of Roses podcast and authors of “How to Win The Bachelor”) continues!
We explore if Ashley would have ever graced the shores of Love Island and what we can expect from her on The Real Housewives of Rhode Island!
Plus, what do our Bachelor game experts think about Taylor Frankie Paul???
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
We're back with Lizzie and Chad from the Game of
Roses podcast. We have more questions, more discussions. I'm intrigued,
Ashley's intrigued. We just came off of a golden season
that you have both been publicly quoted by saying you
did not enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I've also been like wow, like Meil will never come
on this podcast.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
I couldn't hold back.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I think it would help us and our listeners because
they've heard us for weeks now kind of walk through
episode by episode and break down what we liked and
didn't like and what was missing and not missing. But
we are doing it from an opinion and from our
own personal opinions. We don't have any really study in
(00:57):
it other than how we feel watching the show and
how disconnected we felt watching this season. I also want
to say this, and I know I'm long winded here.
I had a lot of high hopes for the Golden Show.
I did, and I still do. I don't think it's
I think somebody could take it over and really make
it a success. Still, I think what we've seen this
last season, it might be the death sentence for the
(01:19):
current reality that we know the Golden to be. But
what actually made from your opinions and the more study
of it, what made this season so bad? And mel
is a lead, so you know, disconnected for the two
of you, in.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
My opinion, very simple. It's for tr R for the
right reasons. He was not the before they even started shooting.
He did that podcast where he basically said everything the
Golden Bachelor is, I'm against it, and they were like, well,
let's keep him. That's still a good guy to have.
We don't need to recast, and then they shoot a
whole goddamn season with the guy that ends with him
telling the two finalists, I'm not into getting married.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Screw this.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Even like Cindy said it, there's a wedding ring in
the logo of the show. Dude, what are you doing?
So he was the antithesis of what the premise of
the show is from before they started shooting to the
final goddamn rose and on top of that, this man
was watching paint dry. This is the most boring lead
we have probably ever had. So if you're gonna be
(02:21):
against the premise of the show and you're the lead
at least be funny or crazy or something. This guy
gave us nothing. Most of his one on one conversations
would be one of the players being like, so do
you want to travel?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
What do you like?
Speaker 4 (02:31):
And he's just like eeh, cool, dude, funny. Like it
was unbearable to watch this man, and unfortunately he had
some incredible players on his season. And this goes back
to what I was talking about earlier. You need to
have like the lead sole function really is kind of
like the game master. You are selecting this order of
(02:53):
twenty five to thirty people which order they're getting kicked off,
and the producers are manipulating that to some degree that
like you know who your top three are, and the
rest of it is just arranging those deck chairs in
a way that is like entertaining enough and for the
lead viable to be believable enough that they're kicking you
off for a valid reason. And the lead is not
the asshole. Mel had this just smorgas board of elite
(03:17):
players in his season, and they didn't get to play
against him because I don't think he understood what he
was supposed.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
To be doing as a lead.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
He was just like, I'm here to find somebody to
date for two years and it's like, oh my god, dude,
what are you doing it all?
Speaker 5 (03:32):
It's also season one we had Gary, and you know,
whatever has come out now about Gary has come out,
but we were so emotionally connected to his storyline and
I'm you know, I'm definitely the Ashley of Chad, and
I like, I'm extremely gullible and I cry a lot.
(03:52):
And I cried in so many of those episodes because
Gary was like, he had this great PTC with his
his wife and he was able to connect with these women.
And the players on that season were extraordinary. I wish
they had had some repeats. Actually on this season, he
felt very present with every person he's talking to. Mellow couldn't.
(04:19):
I don't know where he was. He was not in
those conversations and they were pulling teeth.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
There's an image from that season where it was right
when Cindy self eliminated, which, by the way, is like
a cardinal sin. It's an error you never want to commit,
but I think she actually did it correctly.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, it's very rare.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I want to do it because it immediately ends your
screen time, and who knows what you can do with
any other screen time, you know, but I think she
did it properly actually. But there's a shot of Mel
sitting there in a beach chair as the fireworks are
going off behind him, just expressionless, just stone faced in
this moment that like usually in any other Bachelor season,
(04:58):
the lead is crying, the fireworks are a sad thing.
He's just sitting there like it looks like he's about
to fall asleep. And that image to me was just like,
that's it. That's the whole season right there. This woman
that he supposedly was on the way to quotes falling
in love with her, whatever left him, and he's sitting
under the fireworks by himself. It just doesn't give a
(05:20):
sh now.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
My last comment to this before I pass it back
to Ashley, because she's probably over there like jumping him
down our chair wanting to talk. I'm not gonna let.
Speaker 6 (05:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I know, I know you would be this way and
that's okay, But my only thing is and I just
want either reinforcement or I want to have the two
of you as experts here shut me down. I coming
off of the Bachelor season, I've gotten you know, people
have talked to me about this comment. I made and
(06:00):
some agree and some don't. But my argument is, this season,
or the Golden franchise in total, would be better if
they would have brought somebody in that's eighty three years
old who literally has you know, a story maybe similar
to Gary's, or you know, life has somehow passed them
(06:21):
up and they've never met anybody, but they have that intimacy,
that sweetness, that authenticity that we could relate with. Because
I think that's why I liked the Golden Show was
to watch my grandparents try to find this second chapter
of life in a beautiful way. So I guess my
question is, would you two agree that this season take
(06:42):
Mel out of it? Because I know you're going to say, well,
any of the thing would have been better than this,
But do you think the Golden could could be better
if they were actually up the age group a little bit.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
I don't know if it has anything to do with
necessarily the age, and I will give Mellow the benefit
of the I do kind of think that after after
the podcast came out and he got so much hate,
I do think he was very fearful and that maybe
(07:13):
explains part of why he was so tight lipped during
his season. But like someone like Charles coming off of
Jones season, Like, to me, that's like a sweet, sweet man.
I want to see that man find love. I do
think they had some candidates already.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
He brought me more tears than any contestant in history.
Charles like legit like like tears in my eyes with
my wife and I would watch it and we're like,
I just love I want this man to find that person.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
I think they would have had a really successful season
with him exactly.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
That's ninety percent of it, is like you are the
show for all of us in the fourth audience, myself
and Lizzie included, is it's for us to live vicariously.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Through these people.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Whether you're identifying with the bachelor and you're like, oh
my god, he's getting a second chance or she's getting
a second chance at love later in life. We hope
they find it. You're either on that ride or you're
on the ride with one of the players, whatever capacity
that may be, Like if you want them to win
a rivalry or win a group date, rows or whatever,
and you just didn't have that with Mel. Nobody was
living vicariously through Mel because it was unclear if he
(08:23):
was even living at all in the program. It just
like the decision is so bizarre to me. I know
Jessica Castro came in as the showrunner of the Golden
franchise for this season that it was her first season,
and I don't think it was her fault. She got hamstrung.
ABC was like, he's the guy. The podcast comes out.
ABC is like, forget that, he's still the guy. They
(08:45):
had time to recast this and they did not.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
So that begs the question. This is something that my Heather,
my Heather for our producer. Heather and I were talking
about last week. Do you think that this was a
choice by ABC executives, like there was somebody in that
upper echelon that was like, this must be the Golden Bachelor,
or do you think this was casting.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
I think it was ABC one hundred percent. And I
also I think, to me, this is just again my
two cents. I have some data to back this up
if you will, But uh, I think ABC for the
most part has an attitude about the franchise. Eh, we've
gotten what we've gotten out of it. It's been a
good run. I think they've kind of written it off
and they're just like throwing at the wall. And if
(09:31):
it works. I'm this is what I this is what
my little birdies are telling me. And so I think
they're looking at it as like, yeah, whatever, we've already
cast this guy. It's more work, more effort to try
and cast somebody new who cares Golden does well for us,
or I guess even at that point, it was on
a downward slope after Jen Vasso season. But the Taylor
Frankie Paul thing, I think is like them saying, let's
(09:53):
do something crazy and see if we can revitalize this. Okay,
we think it'll work, honestly, and hopeful the rising tide
lifts all ships and that'll be good for Golden and
good for a Bachelor and good for all.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
The different pieces of the franchise.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
But yeah, I think ABC just has this attitude of
like it had a good run.
Speaker 6 (10:12):
Oh okay, wow.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
I have no little birdies. But I think it's some
sort of NFL conspiracy expand I just think the Bachelor
is super tied to the NFL, and they're like, Okay,
he's a football guy. He's good on paper.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Because of Jesse and Colton and Tyler Cameron.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Yeah, I guess he was an NFL wake Forest, Matt James.
They're like D one college football and NFL is just
a pipeline straight into the Bachelor. How many cheerleaders you
have and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
What about miss usay that I feel like.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
With sure, Yeah, I think it's football and pageants. Those
used to be the two pipelines.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
And you can I can confirm, I will confirm this
that in the past, I don't know anymore. I can't
speak to this current crew. I don't know any of them.
And Mike Flie is no longer he's still I don't know.
I think he's still in the credit, so I don't
really know what he's doing. Yeah, I know what's happening there.
(11:18):
But the Ashley, I do know that there was an
obsession with the NFL during our time and and probably
still exists today with some executives that are still a
part of it, like a deep obsession with being close
to the National Football League. It is not like a
conspiracy tie. There's nothing secret about other than this obsession.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Wait, Jesse and Colton are the only people I can
think that were actually in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
And also this overlap where Jesse Palmer was hired because
he's talented. We love Jesse. He's great, he's he had
an impossible role to fill. He also had a really
a really good on track with Disney that allowed him
to be the host of the Bachelor for a lot
smaller amount of money than what Chris Harrison was getting paid.
(12:10):
And so that just made sense. Uh so there is
that there. I do agree with that.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Okay, well, I can keep you guys forever. Oh no, no,
you could, you could do.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
I was just gonna say, almost every season has at
least one group day at an NFL stadium with a
special celebrity NFL guest that's going to teach you how
to play tackle football and one player gets a concussion
and they never mentioned it in the show. Something like
that happens almost every season.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
And producer Heather is also saying that Ryan Sutter was
in the NFL first art.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
What was he really?
Speaker 5 (12:39):
What the poet?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
No, Ryan Sutter actually has the and again I love Ryan.
This is but I believe we can look this up.
He has the shortest NFL in the history of the NFL.
He was good, really good played for believe the Ravens,
and on his very first play of the very first game,
got injured and never could football again. I think it
was a seven second career he had in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Why is this story so buried in our lore?
Speaker 4 (13:07):
For real?
Speaker 5 (13:07):
I can't believe this.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Yeah, and then Lauri to Bachelor.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Nation he's incredible. Yeah, he's a great athlete. I will
I will actually find the article and send it to
you guys, but we can fact check me. He could
have been great, but he did get hurt.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
The question I've been dying to ask you guys for
a bit now, is your bachelor who never was? Especially
when we were talking about Cindy, I thought that Cindy
is probably my golden bachelorette. That may never be my
ultimate bachelor.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
Who can I guess? Yes, Peter Cross, Yes that's mine too.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
I still dream of the day it's not gonna happen.
He's engaged with a baby on the way. I'm so
happy for him, but that was a loss for us
as a fridge.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
Oh god, he's the one that got away for so many.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Yeah, that's rough. Even now you're bringing it up and
I'm just like my days, No.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
I know, almost like in my mind he did have
his own season.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
I know it somewhere. It exists in the multiverse somewhat.
There is a planet Earth that has the Peter Cross
Bachelor season in twenty eighteen, and we're all better off
for it.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
I immediately think of Tyler Cameron and how hard everyone
would fight if they were on that season.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
That's funny that, like with Time, Peter's It's time that
with Time, Peter's still the one that got away, even
though Tyler is like on the map. I think Tyler's
story played out perfectly the way that it did. I
think that Peter was just such a bachelor.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
I mean, they gave him the edit of like he's
the one that should be with Rachel, and they kind
of minimize ab a solo in that, and.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
I would say modern era Blake Moins. I think that
guy got such a raw deal. I know it was
dangled in front of him for many years in a row,
and it was like, yep, this is gonna happen, and
then it just didn't and he got passed over and
passed over. And that guy has like some incredible stats.
I think if he got the crown, he would be
(15:16):
in contention for the greatest player of all time. I
think he would I mean he won a ring, so
like that already puts him above Nick Vile, at least
in terms of that one metric. But he also did
what Viole did. He crashed a season Katie Thurston's and
then won the ring of that season instead of coming
in second place. He was also in Claire Crawley's prior season,
(15:37):
so he was in back to back seasons as a player,
just like Viole. He did do some paradise. If he
would have gotten the crown, I think that puts him
over the top, but he never did.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
I also think Mike Johnson was robbed. Oh god, we
recently rewatched Hnnah's season and he is He's electric on camera.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
What do you guys think of Emily Maynard? Since Emily
hasn't come up a conversation. I think she's a fantastic.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Player, Oh absolutely.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
And the stuff that they put her through was like
wild the race car group date. You're just like, are
they doing this to her? I guess, so here we go.
Like she had to endure some of the I think
some of the most malevolent producer practices like maybe in
the history of the show, and she came out of
it like flawless was Her season was perfect as a rookie.
(16:37):
Her her bachelorette season was fantastic. Yeah, she was definitely
one of the like on the Mount Rushmore Bachelor.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
She should be up there.
Speaker 5 (16:45):
We also talked about her a lot recently with Taylor
Frankie Paul getting the call because she was a package deal.
We know that they gave her like a record amount
of money to be the lead, and I'm like, if
I'm Taylor Frankie Paul, I'm like, I want at least
Maynard money.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
I might have a record for the lowest amount of money,
but that any lead's ever gotten paid.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
You're negotiating against yourself. You're like, I know you want
to get two hundred thousand dollars. How about we do
it for fifty.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
You're like, wait, you guys all didn't pay to be
the lead.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, I think it really could be a record. And yeah, Ashley,
we watched Emily Maynard have to go on a race
card date and Ashley says, I trust these people. They
have my best interests in mine.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
I totally went also, oh my god, by.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
All the evidence I have just seen too much at
this point in terms of like we've been doing our
show gives for about six years. Over the course of it,
every once in a while I just get a weird
DM from a player, a producer, whatever. Meet me at
the Peninsula Hotel at eleven tonight. I'll tell you everything,
and then I'm shown documents. I'm shown all kinds of
stuff that no civilian should ever have laid eyes on.
(18:03):
And it's like, the picture of what this thing is
now to me is clear in a way that I
think is maybe not clear even to players and stuff.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
At this point, to kind of close here, let's uh,
we have five minutes until our next thing. Do you
have any questions for us? Obviously we can turn the
table a little bit. I know there's probably some stuff
sitting out there. Do you have any questions for Ashley
or myself? As we close, God, I'm.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
Like, oh Jesus, two thousand questions into one or two.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
Well, okay, this could be our part too, for real.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
I would love to go through both of your rookie
seasons with you, like play by play at some point
if possible. But my question is would you have done
I guess let me ask this one. If you could
be a lead then in any other era, what would it.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Do you have changed it or do you think you
were a lead at the right time. I think I
said earlier, I think I was a lead at the
right time. I do think that, and this will be
very self promoting of me. I'll just get weirded out
when I think I could help the show today, because
I do think there's an like, there was an earnestness
(19:22):
and authenticity to my pursuit of if this doesn't work out,
at least I hope the contestants enjoy being here, and
so let's try to make the most of a really
weird situation. And as a result of that, let me
really focus on the human stories coming out of this,
because I think if anything else, at least their stories
could be told and they'll get to know themselves a
(19:44):
little better. I do think that could help the show today,
because I don't know how well the recent leads have
pulled those stories out of people and said, hey, no,
this is going to be good. Like let's not We're
not gonna expose you and hurt you. Let's do this
and like make it a good thing. So I do
think today would been would be something that could be
(20:04):
fun to be a part of. But I think I
was at the right time because it was coming off
of all these so many different personalities leading a show.
Caitlyn and I could be more different, yeah, but the
best of friends. But yeah, I think today.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
All right, Ashley, my question for you is, if you
were back in your playing days and Love Island would
have existed, would you have gone on Love Island?
Speaker 1 (20:31):
No.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I say this as somebody who's only watched one episode
of Love Island, like during.
Speaker 6 (20:37):
COVID, so it was years ago.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Okay, I had to turn it off because I was
so uncomfortable based on how.
Speaker 6 (20:44):
Sexual it wash.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Like the guy was like showing off that he had
slept with four hundred women, and I was like, I
just this is so yucky to me, So like that
kind of raunchy just doesn't appeal to me. Even though
I would have been like some sort of weird unicorn
in that universe, still I don't think it would I
would have fared well in that environment with like all
these like horny people.
Speaker 4 (21:06):
I think you would have been a superstar popping out
of whatever's season you were on because of your what
we call a PVC personal virginity card. I think it
would have isolated you from the other players and allowed
you to play a certain structured game that they can't play,
where you can kind of like do you know less,
as you put it, raunchy version of all the challenges,
so you don't have to be twerking, you don't have
(21:28):
to have the guys grinding on you. And because of that,
you become kind of like an elevated player in that player.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
Pool, a better version of Bell Dasha.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
If you watch that, I do want to ask you, guys,
like where do I point up by like marrying somebody
that nobody thought I would marry a million?
Speaker 6 (21:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (21:48):
I mean it's one of the greatest out of game
plays while still in the player pool. I mean legit
it is because you kind of came into your Paradise
season with that as an agenda, all laser focused on Jared,
you know, and now here you have this life with
him and a family and a business and all this stuff.
(22:10):
It's wild to me. And I think, like Lizzie and
I always talk about, like where do we define play?
Is it only in game? Is it only in the document?
Or does what happens to these people after the like
with Viles podcast in Kaitlyn Bristol's podcast and all of
her hosting jobs and stuff. Is that part of their
you know, kind of career. I always think there's some
gray area, but I will say your post game career
(22:32):
is like it doesn't You're You're in like the top
two or three. I think of all Bachelor players in
the history of the game.
Speaker 5 (22:39):
I watched that whole long, like hour long thing when
you got together on YouTube, and I never watched YouTube.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
There's also this really beautiful like that nobody that worked
on the show didn't believe that Ashley and Jared would
end up together one day.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
They just on the show, everybody, like the producer.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
And so there was a really I know. So there's
a really beautiful I think way that the show navigated
their relationship because they kept bringing them back in at
the right moments to elevate their time together. And I
don't think we see that kind of I'm just using
your words gameplay from the show today. That strategy of
(23:22):
this is a couple that people are gonna love. It's
going to enhance our brand, it's going to help, you know,
us get known as the show for love. And so
let's keep bringing them back, Let's keep giving them touch points.
Let's keep them around the live events together. And that
was very strategic. That was very much a they're going
to figure it out one day, we just don't know when,
(23:43):
and so let's keep them around until they do.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
God, that's almost heartbreaking to hear because it's like it's
so different now. Now it's just like, get them in there,
we need to re engagements. Here's five hundred thousand dollars
separating into three arbitrary envelopes of random amounts of money,
and you're just like, what am I watching? What is
going on?
Speaker 2 (24:02):
I think we can all know, though, who masterminded that
strategy and who was in it long enough to say
the long play here is better than the forced play
of this. So let's keep this going. And if you
were in that crowd at the time, if you probably
weren't Ashley or Jared, you're like, no, this is one
hundred percent what they're doing. Ashley and Jared were just
(24:23):
on their own little journey at the pace they needed
to be so that they can have a beautiful family
and a beautiful marriage.
Speaker 5 (24:40):
I'd see.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I just can't stop with the questions. This is interesting, though.
We don't think we've talked about on the podcast. Yet
Mel's ex wife left him for a woman. Yeah, and
she is now married to a woman, and that is
a huge part of somebody's life. Yes, and it was
not on his season.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Not only was it not on his season, like he
barely talked about why that relationship ended, whether it was
because she now is going to be in a relationship
with a woman or not. Like, the whole thing of
why that ended, how he dealt with it just was
never discussed. And so even that, like one of the
biggest pieces of the Golden franchise is have you been
(25:21):
married before? If yes, what happened with that?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Are you divorced?
Speaker 4 (25:24):
Is your spouse no longer with us?
Speaker 2 (25:26):
You know?
Speaker 4 (25:26):
What are the kind of particulars of those situations do
a lot to paint sympathy for all of these different players,
and we never got that for him. So I mean,
he was just like, yeah, we got divorced anyway, Oh
like football.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
If we knew if he was talking about like his
wife leaving him for our woman, we would have definitely
been more sympathetic.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
I feel like it could have been not his story
to tell though, either. Ah, it could be that, you know,
but I do agree there was a line there whereas like,
could you tell any story? Like you don't have to
go into the details of her life and what happened
and where she's at now that I know that could
seem inappropriate and it's disrespectful, but goodness, could you tell
(26:12):
anything like anything at all? Give us up, give us
something to feel here And I think we missed it, Lizzie,
we haven't got to you as we close up here,
do you have any questions for Ashley or myself that
you want to ask?
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Actually? Which housewife would you say did you try to
model your play style after? If you could pick one.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
This is a great question because I thought that the
people that would go into The Bachelor without having watched
The Bachelor were absolutely insane people because I was such
a fan being part of it before I was part
of it. And I actually haven't never watched the Housewise franchise,
I know, thank god, oh my god, maybe it was good.
(27:00):
I haven't because maybe I would have been too scared.
It was definitely a debate on whether or not I
would do it or not. Now I'll be a debate
between me and Jared. I mean, like our mind's just
like the collective like lifestyle debate.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
How did you end up doing it? I had assumed
you were an avid watcher, not at all.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
My mom would watch the OG New York Housewives, so
like I know Ramona and like that whole crew. So
I did not model my play after anyone. And I
wish I can speak more, but I feel like pr
would be like ash, yeah if I say anymore. But
(27:42):
I would love to at one point, like maybe with
one of their reps on here, like just give a
little bit more the thought process.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
My favorites are Potomac and Salt Lake City. If you
are going to.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Start okay and what it's worth, I think, just based
on like what I know of your place Styn the Bachelor,
I think this is actually beneficial for you. Again, I
think you're kind of like a Taylor Frankie Paul type
player that just has it, that understands the game of
reality TV at like a cellular level. And I think
if you if you go in with too many strategism
(28:13):
that might actually screw up your place style.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
I love this.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
She was born to be a reality Sorry, here's gonna
be the fun part. And it's a good promotion. See
I would have heard that actually, and I've been like,
that's not a compliment, and you're like, no, thank you,
I do. I was made for this moment. Unreal, But
it's gonna be a fun ride. So Chad and Lizzy,
(28:38):
We're gonna break down obviously Real Housewives Rhode Island here
at the Almost Famous podcast. I've never watched an episode
and it is something like I had to watch Perfect
Match this year and it threw me for a loop
mentally for.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
Money joyed it.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
I did because it was so abnormally odd to me
on how somebody can lick ice off as somebody else's
thigh within ten minutes of meeting them. I was like,
I don't get it. I don't know how that happens.
This is the only place it could happen where it's
not like weird. And so we're gonna be breaking it down.
I think it's gonna be a lot of fun because
I'm assuming I'm gonna have a lot of questions for Ashley,
(29:12):
a lot of moments of are you serious? What it
was this like? And I'm excited to watch it too
for the first time, and we'll be doing it here
and so maybe when we do, Lizzie, you can come
back on and kind of give your breakdown of Ashley's performance.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Yeah, like Lizzie, you're gonna need to train me.
Speaker 6 (29:30):
Yeah, it cannot wait.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
I will say I watched the trailer. There was not
enough Ashley eye in it for me. But you know
it's just one trailer.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Well, I can't say anything.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I know it was gonna wait till you do it.
Hey again. The Game of Roses podcast is a great
listen along with the book How to Win the Bachelor
Chat and Lizzie, thank you for coming on, Thank you
for chatting with us, giving us all your insights, all
your things. If there's anything else, if there's any monumental
(30:04):
moments in the franchise where you're like, we got to
talk to Ashley and been about it, please let us know.
You're a joy to talk to in an interview. Unlike
mostly ever one of us are gone, yeah, come jump on.
Speaker 5 (30:19):
I am about to go on maternity leave, but oh
my god, thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
We would have no idea your biker's right there.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
I am dying.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
No, I'll be fine.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
Before Taylor, Frankie Paul's season, we should definitely have you
guys on like this is a true honor too.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
So fun.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Thank you guys, we appreciate it. Until next time. This
has been the Almost Famous Podcast and I've been Been, I've.
Speaker 6 (30:50):
Been Ashley Siah.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcasts on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
We're back with Lizzie and Chad from the Game of
Roses podcast. We have more questions, more discussions. I'm intrigued,
Ashley's intrigued. We just came off of a golden season
that you have both been publicly quoted by saying you
did not enjoy it.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I've also been like wow, like Meil will never come
on this podcast.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
I couldn't hold back.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I think it would help us and our listeners because
they've heard us for weeks now kind of walk through
episode by episode and break down what we liked and
didn't like and what was missing and not missing. But
we are doing it from an opinion and from our
own personal opinions. We don't have any really study in
(00:57):
it other than how we feel watching the show and
how disconnected we felt watching this season. I also want
to say this, and I know I'm long winded here.
I had a lot of high hopes for the Golden Show.
I did, and I still do. I don't think it's
I think somebody could take it over and really make
it a success. Still, I think what we've seen this
last season, it might be the death sentence for the
(01:19):
current reality that we know the Golden to be. But
what actually made from your opinions and the more study
of it, what made this season so bad? And mel
is a lead, so you know, disconnected for the two
of you, in.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
My opinion, very simple. It's for tr R for the
right reasons. He was not the before they even started shooting.
He did that podcast where he basically said everything the
Golden Bachelor is, I'm against it, and they were like, well,
let's keep him. That's still a good guy to have.
We don't need to recast, and then they shoot a
whole goddamn season with the guy that ends with him
telling the two finalists, I'm not into getting married.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Screw this.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Even like Cindy said it, there's a wedding ring in
the logo of the show. Dude, what are you doing?
So he was the antithesis of what the premise of
the show is from before they started shooting to the
final goddamn rose and on top of that, this man
was watching paint dry. This is the most boring lead
we have probably ever had. So if you're gonna be
(02:21):
against the premise of the show and you're the lead
at least be funny or crazy or something. This guy
gave us nothing. Most of his one on one conversations
would be one of the players being like, so do
you want to travel?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
What do you like?
Speaker 4 (02:31):
And he's just like eeh, cool, dude, funny. Like it
was unbearable to watch this man, and unfortunately he had
some incredible players on his season. And this goes back
to what I was talking about earlier. You need to
have like the lead sole function really is kind of
like the game master. You are selecting this order of
(02:53):
twenty five to thirty people which order they're getting kicked off,
and the producers are manipulating that to some degree that
like you know who your top three are, and the
rest of it is just arranging those deck chairs in
a way that is like entertaining enough and for the
lead viable to be believable enough that they're kicking you
off for a valid reason. And the lead is not
the asshole. Mel had this just smorgas board of elite
(03:17):
players in his season, and they didn't get to play
against him because I don't think he understood what he
was supposed.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
To be doing as a lead.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
He was just like, I'm here to find somebody to
date for two years and it's like, oh my god, dude,
what are you doing it all?
Speaker 5 (03:32):
It's also season one we had Gary, and you know,
whatever has come out now about Gary has come out,
but we were so emotionally connected to his storyline and
I'm you know, I'm definitely the Ashley of Chad, and
I like, I'm extremely gullible and I cry a lot.
(03:52):
And I cried in so many of those episodes because
Gary was like, he had this great PTC with his
his wife and he was able to connect with these women.
And the players on that season were extraordinary. I wish
they had had some repeats. Actually on this season, he
felt very present with every person he's talking to. Mellow couldn't.
(04:19):
I don't know where he was. He was not in
those conversations and they were pulling teeth.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
There's an image from that season where it was right
when Cindy self eliminated, which, by the way, is like
a cardinal sin. It's an error you never want to commit,
but I think she actually did it correctly.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, it's very rare.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I want to do it because it immediately ends your
screen time, and who knows what you can do with
any other screen time, you know, but I think she
did it properly actually. But there's a shot of Mel
sitting there in a beach chair as the fireworks are
going off behind him, just expressionless, just stone faced in
this moment that like usually in any other Bachelor season,
(04:58):
the lead is crying, the fireworks are a sad thing.
He's just sitting there like it looks like he's about
to fall asleep. And that image to me was just like,
that's it. That's the whole season right there. This woman
that he supposedly was on the way to quotes falling
in love with her, whatever left him, and he's sitting
under the fireworks by himself. It just doesn't give a
(05:20):
sh now.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
My last comment to this before I pass it back
to Ashley, because she's probably over there like jumping him
down our chair wanting to talk. I'm not gonna let.
Speaker 6 (05:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I know, I know you would be this way and
that's okay, But my only thing is and I just
want either reinforcement or I want to have the two
of you as experts here shut me down. I coming
off of the Bachelor season, I've gotten you know, people
have talked to me about this comment. I made and
(06:00):
some agree and some don't. But my argument is, this season,
or the Golden franchise in total, would be better if
they would have brought somebody in that's eighty three years
old who literally has you know, a story maybe similar
to Gary's, or you know, life has somehow passed them
(06:21):
up and they've never met anybody, but they have that intimacy,
that sweetness, that authenticity that we could relate with. Because
I think that's why I liked the Golden Show was
to watch my grandparents try to find this second chapter
of life in a beautiful way. So I guess my
question is, would you two agree that this season take
(06:42):
Mel out of it? Because I know you're going to say, well,
any of the thing would have been better than this,
But do you think the Golden could could be better
if they were actually up the age group a little bit.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
I don't know if it has anything to do with
necessarily the age, and I will give Mellow the benefit
of the I do kind of think that after after
the podcast came out and he got so much hate,
I do think he was very fearful and that maybe
(07:13):
explains part of why he was so tight lipped during
his season. But like someone like Charles coming off of
Jones season, Like, to me, that's like a sweet, sweet man.
I want to see that man find love. I do
think they had some candidates already.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
He brought me more tears than any contestant in history.
Charles like legit like like tears in my eyes with
my wife and I would watch it and we're like,
I just love I want this man to find that person.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
I think they would have had a really successful season
with him exactly.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
That's ninety percent of it, is like you are the
show for all of us in the fourth audience, myself
and Lizzie included, is it's for us to live vicariously.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Through these people.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Whether you're identifying with the bachelor and you're like, oh
my god, he's getting a second chance or she's getting
a second chance at love later in life. We hope
they find it. You're either on that ride or you're
on the ride with one of the players, whatever capacity
that may be, Like if you want them to win
a rivalry or win a group date, rows or whatever,
and you just didn't have that with Mel. Nobody was
living vicariously through Mel because it was unclear if he
(08:23):
was even living at all in the program. It just
like the decision is so bizarre to me. I know
Jessica Castro came in as the showrunner of the Golden
franchise for this season that it was her first season,
and I don't think it was her fault. She got hamstrung.
ABC was like, he's the guy. The podcast comes out.
ABC is like, forget that, he's still the guy. They
(08:45):
had time to recast this and they did not.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
So that begs the question. This is something that my Heather,
my Heather for our producer. Heather and I were talking
about last week. Do you think that this was a
choice by ABC executives, like there was somebody in that
upper echelon that was like, this must be the Golden Bachelor,
or do you think this was casting.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
I think it was ABC one hundred percent. And I
also I think, to me, this is just again my
two cents. I have some data to back this up
if you will, But uh, I think ABC for the
most part has an attitude about the franchise. Eh, we've
gotten what we've gotten out of it. It's been a
good run. I think they've kind of written it off
and they're just like throwing at the wall. And if
(09:31):
it works. I'm this is what I this is what
my little birdies are telling me. And so I think
they're looking at it as like, yeah, whatever, we've already
cast this guy. It's more work, more effort to try
and cast somebody new who cares Golden does well for us,
or I guess even at that point, it was on
a downward slope after Jen Vasso season. But the Taylor
Frankie Paul thing, I think is like them saying, let's
(09:53):
do something crazy and see if we can revitalize this. Okay,
we think it'll work, honestly, and hopeful the rising tide
lifts all ships and that'll be good for Golden and
good for a Bachelor and good for all.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
The different pieces of the franchise.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
But yeah, I think ABC just has this attitude of
like it had a good run.
Speaker 6 (10:12):
Oh okay, wow.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
I have no little birdies. But I think it's some
sort of NFL conspiracy expand I just think the Bachelor
is super tied to the NFL, and they're like, Okay,
he's a football guy. He's good on paper.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Because of Jesse and Colton and Tyler Cameron.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Yeah, I guess he was an NFL wake Forest, Matt James.
They're like D one college football and NFL is just
a pipeline straight into the Bachelor. How many cheerleaders you
have and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
What about miss usay that I feel like.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
With sure, Yeah, I think it's football and pageants. Those
used to be the two pipelines.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
And you can I can confirm, I will confirm this
that in the past, I don't know anymore. I can't
speak to this current crew. I don't know any of them.
And Mike Flie is no longer he's still I don't know.
I think he's still in the credit, so I don't
really know what he's doing. Yeah, I know what's happening there.
(11:18):
But the Ashley, I do know that there was an
obsession with the NFL during our time and and probably
still exists today with some executives that are still a
part of it, like a deep obsession with being close
to the National Football League. It is not like a
conspiracy tie. There's nothing secret about other than this obsession.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Wait, Jesse and Colton are the only people I can
think that were actually in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
And also this overlap where Jesse Palmer was hired because
he's talented. We love Jesse. He's great, he's he had
an impossible role to fill. He also had a really
a really good on track with Disney that allowed him
to be the host of the Bachelor for a lot
smaller amount of money than what Chris Harrison was getting paid.
(12:10):
And so that just made sense. Uh so there is
that there. I do agree with that.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Okay, well, I can keep you guys forever. Oh no, no,
you could, you could do.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
I was just gonna say, almost every season has at
least one group day at an NFL stadium with a
special celebrity NFL guest that's going to teach you how
to play tackle football and one player gets a concussion
and they never mentioned it in the show. Something like
that happens almost every season.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
And producer Heather is also saying that Ryan Sutter was
in the NFL first art.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
What was he really?
Speaker 5 (12:39):
What the poet?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
No, Ryan Sutter actually has the and again I love Ryan.
This is but I believe we can look this up.
He has the shortest NFL in the history of the NFL.
He was good, really good played for believe the Ravens,
and on his very first play of the very first game,
got injured and never could football again. I think it
was a seven second career he had in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Why is this story so buried in our lore?
Speaker 4 (13:07):
For real?
Speaker 5 (13:07):
I can't believe this.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Yeah, and then Lauri to Bachelor.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Nation he's incredible. Yeah, he's a great athlete. I will
I will actually find the article and send it to
you guys, but we can fact check me. He could
have been great, but he did get hurt.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
The question I've been dying to ask you guys for
a bit now, is your bachelor who never was? Especially
when we were talking about Cindy, I thought that Cindy
is probably my golden bachelorette. That may never be my
ultimate bachelor.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
Who can I guess? Yes, Peter Cross, Yes that's mine too.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
I still dream of the day it's not gonna happen.
He's engaged with a baby on the way. I'm so
happy for him, but that was a loss for us
as a fridge.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
Oh god, he's the one that got away for so many.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Yeah, that's rough. Even now you're bringing it up and
I'm just like my days, No.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
I know, almost like in my mind he did have
his own season.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
I know it somewhere. It exists in the multiverse somewhat.
There is a planet Earth that has the Peter Cross
Bachelor season in twenty eighteen, and we're all better off
for it.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
I immediately think of Tyler Cameron and how hard everyone
would fight if they were on that season.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
That's funny that, like with Time, Peter's It's time that
with Time, Peter's still the one that got away, even
though Tyler is like on the map. I think Tyler's
story played out perfectly the way that it did. I
think that Peter was just such a bachelor.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
I mean, they gave him the edit of like he's
the one that should be with Rachel, and they kind
of minimize ab a solo in that, and.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
I would say modern era Blake Moins. I think that
guy got such a raw deal. I know it was
dangled in front of him for many years in a row,
and it was like, yep, this is gonna happen, and
then it just didn't and he got passed over and
passed over. And that guy has like some incredible stats.
I think if he got the crown, he would be
(15:16):
in contention for the greatest player of all time. I
think he would I mean he won a ring, so
like that already puts him above Nick Vile, at least
in terms of that one metric. But he also did
what Viole did. He crashed a season Katie Thurston's and
then won the ring of that season instead of coming
in second place. He was also in Claire Crawley's prior season,
(15:37):
so he was in back to back seasons as a player,
just like Viole. He did do some paradise. If he
would have gotten the crown, I think that puts him
over the top, but he never did.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
I also think Mike Johnson was robbed. Oh god, we
recently rewatched Hnnah's season and he is He's electric on camera.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
What do you guys think of Emily Maynard? Since Emily
hasn't come up a conversation. I think she's a fantastic.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Player, Oh absolutely.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
And the stuff that they put her through was like
wild the race car group date. You're just like, are
they doing this to her? I guess, so here we go.
Like she had to endure some of the I think
some of the most malevolent producer practices like maybe in
the history of the show, and she came out of
it like flawless was Her season was perfect as a rookie.
(16:37):
Her her bachelorette season was fantastic. Yeah, she was definitely
one of the like on the Mount Rushmore Bachelor.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
She should be up there.
Speaker 5 (16:45):
We also talked about her a lot recently with Taylor
Frankie Paul getting the call because she was a package deal.
We know that they gave her like a record amount
of money to be the lead, and I'm like, if
I'm Taylor Frankie Paul, I'm like, I want at least
Maynard money.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
I might have a record for the lowest amount of money,
but that any lead's ever gotten paid.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
You're negotiating against yourself. You're like, I know you want
to get two hundred thousand dollars. How about we do
it for fifty.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
You're like, wait, you guys all didn't pay to be
the lead.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, I think it really could be a record. And yeah, Ashley,
we watched Emily Maynard have to go on a race
card date and Ashley says, I trust these people. They
have my best interests in mine.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
I totally went also, oh my god, by.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
All the evidence I have just seen too much at
this point in terms of like we've been doing our
show gives for about six years. Over the course of it,
every once in a while I just get a weird
DM from a player, a producer, whatever. Meet me at
the Peninsula Hotel at eleven tonight. I'll tell you everything,
and then I'm shown documents. I'm shown all kinds of
stuff that no civilian should ever have laid eyes on.
(18:03):
And it's like, the picture of what this thing is
now to me is clear in a way that I
think is maybe not clear even to players and stuff.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
At this point, to kind of close here, let's uh,
we have five minutes until our next thing. Do you
have any questions for us? Obviously we can turn the
table a little bit. I know there's probably some stuff
sitting out there. Do you have any questions for Ashley
or myself? As we close, God, I'm.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
Like, oh Jesus, two thousand questions into one or two.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
Well, okay, this could be our part too, for real.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
I would love to go through both of your rookie
seasons with you, like play by play at some point
if possible. But my question is would you have done
I guess let me ask this one. If you could
be a lead then in any other era, what would it.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Do you have changed it or do you think you
were a lead at the right time. I think I
said earlier, I think I was a lead at the
right time. I do think that, and this will be
very self promoting of me. I'll just get weirded out
when I think I could help the show today, because
I do think there's an like, there was an earnestness
(19:22):
and authenticity to my pursuit of if this doesn't work out,
at least I hope the contestants enjoy being here, and
so let's try to make the most of a really
weird situation. And as a result of that, let me
really focus on the human stories coming out of this,
because I think if anything else, at least their stories
could be told and they'll get to know themselves a
(19:44):
little better. I do think that could help the show today,
because I don't know how well the recent leads have
pulled those stories out of people and said, hey, no,
this is going to be good. Like let's not We're
not gonna expose you and hurt you. Let's do this
and like make it a good thing. So I do
think today would been would be something that could be
(20:04):
fun to be a part of. But I think I
was at the right time because it was coming off
of all these so many different personalities leading a show.
Caitlyn and I could be more different, yeah, but the
best of friends. But yeah, I think today.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
All right, Ashley, my question for you is, if you
were back in your playing days and Love Island would
have existed, would you have gone on Love Island?
Speaker 1 (20:31):
No.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I say this as somebody who's only watched one episode
of Love Island, like during.
Speaker 6 (20:37):
COVID, so it was years ago.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Okay, I had to turn it off because I was
so uncomfortable based on how.
Speaker 6 (20:44):
Sexual it wash.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Like the guy was like showing off that he had
slept with four hundred women, and I was like, I
just this is so yucky to me, So like that
kind of raunchy just doesn't appeal to me. Even though
I would have been like some sort of weird unicorn
in that universe, still I don't think it would I
would have fared well in that environment with like all
these like horny people.
Speaker 4 (21:06):
I think you would have been a superstar popping out
of whatever's season you were on because of your what
we call a PVC personal virginity card. I think it
would have isolated you from the other players and allowed
you to play a certain structured game that they can't play,
where you can kind of like do you know less,
as you put it, raunchy version of all the challenges,
so you don't have to be twerking, you don't have
(21:28):
to have the guys grinding on you. And because of that,
you become kind of like an elevated player in that player.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
Pool, a better version of Bell Dasha.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
If you watch that, I do want to ask you, guys,
like where do I point up by like marrying somebody
that nobody thought I would marry a million?
Speaker 6 (21:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (21:48):
I mean it's one of the greatest out of game
plays while still in the player pool. I mean legit
it is because you kind of came into your Paradise
season with that as an agenda, all laser focused on Jared,
you know, and now here you have this life with
him and a family and a business and all this stuff.
(22:10):
It's wild to me. And I think, like Lizzie and
I always talk about, like where do we define play?
Is it only in game? Is it only in the document?
Or does what happens to these people after the like
with Viles podcast in Kaitlyn Bristol's podcast and all of
her hosting jobs and stuff. Is that part of their
you know, kind of career. I always think there's some
gray area, but I will say your post game career
(22:32):
is like it doesn't You're You're in like the top
two or three. I think of all Bachelor players in
the history of the game.
Speaker 5 (22:39):
I watched that whole long, like hour long thing when
you got together on YouTube, and I never watched YouTube.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
There's also this really beautiful like that nobody that worked
on the show didn't believe that Ashley and Jared would
end up together one day.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
They just on the show, everybody, like the producer.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
And so there was a really I know. So there's
a really beautiful I think way that the show navigated
their relationship because they kept bringing them back in at
the right moments to elevate their time together. And I
don't think we see that kind of I'm just using
your words gameplay from the show today. That strategy of
(23:22):
this is a couple that people are gonna love. It's
going to enhance our brand, it's going to help, you know,
us get known as the show for love. And so
let's keep bringing them back, Let's keep giving them touch points.
Let's keep them around the live events together. And that
was very strategic. That was very much a they're going
to figure it out one day, we just don't know when,
(23:43):
and so let's keep them around until they do.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
God, that's almost heartbreaking to hear because it's like it's
so different now. Now it's just like, get them in there,
we need to re engagements. Here's five hundred thousand dollars
separating into three arbitrary envelopes of random amounts of money,
and you're just like, what am I watching? What is
going on?
Speaker 2 (24:02):
I think we can all know, though, who masterminded that
strategy and who was in it long enough to say
the long play here is better than the forced play
of this. So let's keep this going. And if you
were in that crowd at the time, if you probably
weren't Ashley or Jared, you're like, no, this is one
hundred percent what they're doing. Ashley and Jared were just
(24:23):
on their own little journey at the pace they needed
to be so that they can have a beautiful family
and a beautiful marriage.
Speaker 5 (24:40):
I'd see.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I just can't stop with the questions. This is interesting, though.
We don't think we've talked about on the podcast. Yet
Mel's ex wife left him for a woman. Yeah, and
she is now married to a woman, and that is
a huge part of somebody's life. Yes, and it was
not on his season.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Not only was it not on his season, like he
barely talked about why that relationship ended, whether it was
because she now is going to be in a relationship
with a woman or not. Like, the whole thing of
why that ended, how he dealt with it just was
never discussed. And so even that, like one of the
biggest pieces of the Golden franchise is have you been
(25:21):
married before? If yes, what happened with that?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Are you divorced?
Speaker 4 (25:24):
Is your spouse no longer with us?
Speaker 2 (25:26):
You know?
Speaker 4 (25:26):
What are the kind of particulars of those situations do
a lot to paint sympathy for all of these different players,
and we never got that for him. So I mean,
he was just like, yeah, we got divorced anyway, Oh
like football.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
If we knew if he was talking about like his
wife leaving him for our woman, we would have definitely
been more sympathetic.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
I feel like it could have been not his story
to tell though, either. Ah, it could be that, you know,
but I do agree there was a line there whereas like,
could you tell any story? Like you don't have to
go into the details of her life and what happened
and where she's at now that I know that could
seem inappropriate and it's disrespectful, but goodness, could you tell
(26:12):
anything like anything at all? Give us up, give us
something to feel here And I think we missed it, Lizzie,
we haven't got to you as we close up here,
do you have any questions for Ashley or myself that
you want to ask?
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Actually? Which housewife would you say did you try to
model your play style after? If you could pick one.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
This is a great question because I thought that the
people that would go into The Bachelor without having watched
The Bachelor were absolutely insane people because I was such
a fan being part of it before I was part
of it. And I actually haven't never watched the Housewise franchise,
I know, thank god, oh my god, maybe it was good.
(27:00):
I haven't because maybe I would have been too scared.
It was definitely a debate on whether or not I
would do it or not. Now I'll be a debate
between me and Jared. I mean, like our mind's just
like the collective like lifestyle debate.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
How did you end up doing it? I had assumed
you were an avid watcher, not at all.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
My mom would watch the OG New York Housewives, so
like I know Ramona and like that whole crew. So
I did not model my play after anyone. And I
wish I can speak more, but I feel like pr
would be like ash, yeah if I say anymore. But
(27:42):
I would love to at one point, like maybe with
one of their reps on here, like just give a
little bit more the thought process.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
My favorites are Potomac and Salt Lake City. If you
are going to.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Start okay and what it's worth, I think, just based
on like what I know of your place Styn the Bachelor,
I think this is actually beneficial for you. Again, I
think you're kind of like a Taylor Frankie Paul type
player that just has it, that understands the game of
reality TV at like a cellular level. And I think
if you if you go in with too many strategism
(28:13):
that might actually screw up your place style.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
I love this.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
She was born to be a reality Sorry, here's gonna
be the fun part. And it's a good promotion. See
I would have heard that actually, and I've been like,
that's not a compliment, and you're like, no, thank you,
I do. I was made for this moment. Unreal, But
it's gonna be a fun ride. So Chad and Lizzy,
(28:38):
We're gonna break down obviously Real Housewives Rhode Island here
at the Almost Famous podcast. I've never watched an episode
and it is something like I had to watch Perfect
Match this year and it threw me for a loop
mentally for.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
Money joyed it.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
I did because it was so abnormally odd to me
on how somebody can lick ice off as somebody else's
thigh within ten minutes of meeting them. I was like,
I don't get it. I don't know how that happens.
This is the only place it could happen where it's
not like weird. And so we're gonna be breaking it down.
I think it's gonna be a lot of fun because
I'm assuming I'm gonna have a lot of questions for Ashley,
(29:12):
a lot of moments of are you serious? What it
was this like? And I'm excited to watch it too
for the first time, and we'll be doing it here
and so maybe when we do, Lizzie, you can come
back on and kind of give your breakdown of Ashley's performance.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Yeah, like Lizzie, you're gonna need to train me.
Speaker 6 (29:30):
Yeah, it cannot wait.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
I will say I watched the trailer. There was not
enough Ashley eye in it for me. But you know
it's just one trailer.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Well, I can't say anything.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I know it was gonna wait till you do it.
Hey again. The Game of Roses podcast is a great
listen along with the book How to Win the Bachelor
Chat and Lizzie, thank you for coming on, Thank you
for chatting with us, giving us all your insights, all
your things. If there's anything else, if there's any monumental
(30:04):
moments in the franchise where you're like, we got to
talk to Ashley and been about it, please let us know.
You're a joy to talk to in an interview. Unlike
mostly ever one of us are gone, yeah, come jump on.
Speaker 5 (30:19):
I am about to go on maternity leave, but oh
my god, thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
We would have no idea your biker's right there.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
I am dying.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
No, I'll be fine.
Speaker 5 (30:34):
Before Taylor, Frankie Paul's season, we should definitely have you
guys on like this is a true honor too.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
So fun.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Thank you guys, we appreciate it. Until next time. This
has been the Almost Famous Podcast and I've been Been, I've.
Speaker 6 (30:50):
Been Ashley Siah.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcasts on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
Ben Higgins
Ashley Iaconetti
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